Creak
by Born-Of-Elven-Blood
Summary: An old woman sits in the shade of the Great Tree day after day and remembers... That same dream... Only one regret... And there's no need to say goodbye...


AN: Hiya! Just another twisted idea that has survived the trek from my brain to the keyboard…I thought this up while spacing out and looking out the window of the car…I hope you like it! Don't forget, reviews earn invisible gold stars! So don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: InuYasha plot and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The lyrics to the song Fukai Mori (Deep Forest) belong to Do As Infinity, and whoever owns them (someone other than me)…Characters Satsuki, Kappei and Rumiko were inspired by actual people, for those who don't recognize the names:

Satsuki Yuniko Kagome's VA

Kappei Yamaguchi InuYasha's VA

Rumiko Takahashi Creator of the manga and anime

Enough of me! On with the show!

* * *

**_CREAK…_ **

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

The chair swayed back and forth, slowly, ever so slowly lulling the aged woman into a familiar dream that she'd had so many times, she no longer cried when she woke. That familiar bright light, a heart stopping lurch, then the sucking blackness as she was torn away through the dark passage…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeee—

She started awake. No tears though. Not anymore. She was too old for regrets. No, her time was now occupied by fond memories, sitting in her rocking chair outside the house she'd grown up in, watching the hired girl sweep the stone stairs, listening to the summer wind blow through the Great Tree and simply remembering. Everyone that she'd held dear was dead or gone, but she took comfort in that they would live on as long as she remembered them. And so, her now fragile frame too weak to be of much use in anything else, she kept her silent vigil each day, remembering all there was to remember and letting the creak of the porch under her rocking chair lull her into dreams.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

That squeaky board used to annoy her so. It used to be a shrill needle in her comfortable quiet, and she always meant to call a handy man to have it fixed. But as time passed, day by day, and she continued to rock slowly back and forth, the creaking steadily transformed itself from an annoyance to a comfort; and as the years continued to pass, it went from a piercing shriek to a familiar lullaby, like an old friend sitting beside her as she dozed to look after things while she was away. There were times that feeling was so uncanny, she could swear she could feel the familiar warmth of something wonderful right beside her, but when she opened her eyes, there was nothing but the shrine grounds, spread with dappled sunlight that filtered down through the boughs of the Great Tree.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

The Great Tree…she squinted slightly through the late afternoon sunlight at the ancient tree, or more specifically at the trunk. In spite of her age, her eyesight was surprisingly good, and from where she sat she could just make out the outline of a scar the marred the perfect wood. An old familiar pang squeezed at her old heart. The same pang that she felt every time she dreamed that familiar dream. The same pang that had kept her from marrying and having a family all those years ago when that helpful young man had asked her to marry him. The same pang she felt now as her eyes traveled over to the old, weatherbeaten well house.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

It must have been 50 years now since she'd entered that rickety old ramshackle building. For the longest time she would go there as one would go to a grave, and speak to it as though she were speaking to her long dead friends…she would tell them of her life and troubles and joys when she was younger…complain of her aches and pains as she aged…told them of her hopes, her regrets, cried and laughed there….but as time had passed, she'd grown too tired, physically, emotionally and spiritually to continue going back.

Now she sat each day in her rocking chair, listening to the wind in the Great tree, the shuffle of the hired girl sweeping the stone stairs and creak of her rocking chair on the squeaky floorboard on the porch and entertaining her memories…

"Excuse me…" a quiet voice intoned, interrupting the old woman's musings. Looking up, she saw the hired girl standing before her, her head bowed in meek respect to her elder. She was a good girl, and it was nice to know that in this day and age of high speed technology and advancement, there were still those that knew how to be polite. She was a good girl.

"Yeaa—ahem—Yes, Satsuki?" she answered, her voice cracking from disuse; she hardly spoke to anyone else anymore.

"Excuse me, Higurashi-sama, but the sweeping is finished and the groceries are put away and the dishes washed. I've locked up the gift shop as well. Is there anything else you need?"

The old woman blinked. Was it that late already? Yes, the sun sinking behind the skyscrapers in the distance was proof enough of that.

"Oh, no, dear girl, I've got everything I need, thank you. You can go on and go, I'm sure you've got more important things to do than sit around with an old lady and waste the day away."

Satsuki smiled. "Forgive me, but you're wrong! I love it here, Higurashi-sama! It so quiet and peaceful…its like when I walk up those stairs, I'm walking through into another place and time altogether! I love listening to your stories, Higurashi-sama, and I love standing under the Great Tree, whenever I do, I feel like…like everything is right with the world…" She blushed profusely and put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh, what you must think of me! I'm rambling on and on!"

The old woman observed the girl, her wrinkles rearranging themselves into a smile. She reminded her of herself at that age…full of wonder and excitement, with a tendency to ramble…

"No, no, I do know exactly what you mean…that's what makes this such a special place, here in the shadow of the Great Tree…its that feeling of rightness and wholeness, of things coming full circle…that's the power of the Great Tree."

She could feel herself drifting towards her memories again, and knew it would be terribly rude to leave the poor girl behind while she reminisced, so she shook herself soundly and went on.

"Tell me, Satsuki, how is your fiancee? What was his name? Kappei? Ah, and your sister! How is she doing with her drawing?"

Satsuki smiled back down at her employer, her cheeks stained a lovely shade of pink. "Kappei is very well, the wedding date is set for next month! I'm so excited! I…I hope you'll come!" she exclaimed, looking a little embarrassed.

The old woman laughed a little, her eyes twinkling. "As if I'd miss it!" she returned saucily, eliciting another little grin from the young woman before her.

"As for my sister," Satsuki continued, "Rumiko is a complete success. She's sold some of her stories and they're doing quite well!"

"That's wonderful, dear, just wonderful—" she broke off with a yawn, covering it a hand knobby with arthritis.

"I'm sorry, Higurashi-sama, you must be tired! Would you like me to help you inside to bed?"

"No, no, my dear, I think I'd much prefer to stay here for a bit longer and enjoy the evening breeze. Its such a lovely time of year, just before it turns cold for autumn. I hate to miss a moment."

"Of course. Well then, with your permission, I'll be on my way, ma'am. I'll be back tomorrow, same time."

"Yes, dear, that's just fine. Have a good evening."

Satsuki bowed and turned to go.

"Oh, and by the way," she called over her shoulder as she strolled down the path, "happy birthday, Higurashi-sama!"

As the old woman watched the young girl walk away, she was reminded again of herself as a young woman, a spring in her step and her eyes ever skyward, gazing at the world through innocent and hopeful eyes. The girl stopped to say a prayer under the Great Tree, then skipped off towards the stone stairs, stopping to wave as she passed under the torii before making her way out of sight.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

And so the old woman went back to her vigil, rocking slowly back and forth, listening to the wind in the Great Tree and remembering times gone by. The evening breeze stirred her long white hair; it smelled of sakura and she drew a deep breath, savoring it…a woman of her age never did know how many more breaths she'd get to savor. Satsuki was right. Today was her birthday. She'd forgotten…with herculean effort, she made herself count the years, and was suddenly astonished. This was her 115th birthday…

Now, it was not the fact that she was 115 years old that made her jump…she'd been there at the other 114, and had known that it was on its way…the momentousness of the occasion came from the fact that it was exactly 100 years since her 15th birthday; 100 years, almost to the hour (for the sun had been just setting that time as well), since she'd run, terrified down the dirt path between the rice patties; 100 years since she'd stumbled and fallen at the foot of the Great Tree; 100 years since she'd first heard his voice…

"You look pretty dumb just sitting there, Kikyo!" the voice echoed in her mind, taunting her from over a century ago and making her face break into a smile and her eyes water. He was always so brash. There again came that pang…her heart beat a little harder.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

The floorboards protested more than usual as she pulled herself unsteadily to her feet, leaning heavily on her cane as she hobbled out from under the awning and down the pavement. It was slow going and she could feel her bones protesting, just the same as the floorboards.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

At long last she came to the Great Tree. Managing, with untold effort, to hoist herself over the knee-high gate around the tree's base, she hobbled up to its base. Her keen eyes found the scar on the tree, the surface that had been marred by a sad instance of mistrust and 50 years of exposure to dormant youki. She sighed deeply.

"Its our anniversary, InuYasha," she murmured quietly, "100 years since we first met."

She reached up and lay her hand, so bony and thin, covered with age spots and knotted with arthritis against the scar…and as her flesh contacted the wood, she imagined for an instant that she saw another and atop hers, this one smooth and supple, the flesh young and unmarred, cuffed at the wrist with green and white…but then it was gone. Memory choked her and she felt tears on her wrinkled face as she cast her cane aside and gripped the tree with both arms, laying her cheek against its rough surface. Closing her eyes, she could almost imagine that she felt soft fur pressing against her rather than the rough bark, and could almost imagine that he was holding her.

"InuYasha?" she whispered. It had worked once before, the day the Bone Eater's well had overgrown with roots and she'd been forced back to her time…she'd called out to him, through time and space, through the Great Tree, and he'd answered her. "You're here!" she'd cried in surprise…he'd only laughed at her and replied "Am I not always?" She listened intently, with bated breath.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

The only sound was the sighing of the boughs of the Great Tree as the wind blew through them. She nearly laughed at her own foolishness…she no longer had the Shikon no Kakera. Even if her own spiritual power hadn't evaporated over time, she couldn't have reached him...no, she could no longer reach that distant past in any way but through memories…

Her knees began to ache from standing, and so, against her better judgement, she leaned against the trunk and lowered herself to the ground. It was surprisingly warm from the long hours of summer sunlight and she reclined against the bark.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

She let her eyes drift over the grounds of her family shrine, resting for a moment on the house that she'd lived in for so very long, then again on the old well house. Sighing lightly, she let her eyes drift close. Here again she surveyed the surroundings in her memory. Thick forest surrounded her on all sides, and over there, off to the left, there was the Bone Eaters well, naked without the little hut that sheltered it.

Time seemed to turn backwards as she sat there with her eyes closed remembering. She remembered everything. She remembered the blueness of the skies, the greenness of the trees, the lightness of the unpolluted air, the coldness of the clear rivers. She remembered breathtaking nights beside the fire, gazing up at the vast expanse of the heavens speckled with light, and even more breathtaking rides on InuYasha's back as he ran like the wind, leaping through the air with inhuman speed, jumping into the sky, then plummeting back to the earth and landing with skill and grace. She remembered her small hands fisting in the soft fur of his haori with giddy excitement; she'd never told him how much she loved it when he carried her on his back…

She'd never told him how much she loved him…everything about him…but she knew he knew…she knew that he'd loved her as well…It was no kind of secret to anyone, except perhaps him…but she wished she'd told him, just once, all the same…

She remembered the others as well…

She remembered kneeling next to Kaede as she tried to discern the difference between certain medicinal herbs, sneezing often at the pungent odor…

She remembered cuddling with Shippo on cold nights, playing with the fluff of his tail…

She remembered Miroku's true smile when he laughed in mirth, something so genuine that it made you want to take in all the world around you and appreciated it…

She remembered Sango's stubborn pride, the way she could devastate a demon in combat, and in the next moment blush like a school girl when she teased her about Miroku…

She remembered watching Kirara transform from a tiny kitten into a majestic beast in a rush of wind and fire, riding on her back as she flew above the clouds…

She remembered how flustered she would become when Kouga took her hands, and how she silently and a bit guiltily laughed as poor Ginta and Hakkaku tore past them in a desperate attempt to keep up with their leader…

She remembered how it hurt when she saw the snakelike Shindamachuu drifting past with ethereal grace, and watching InuYasha follow them like a puppy on a leash…

She remembered the fear and awe of watching Sesshomaru in battle, moving with such deadly speed and grace that it was beautiful…

But most of all she remembered InuYasha…she remembered his golden eyes bearing into hers, his silver hair whipping around them…she remembered touching his ears, how soft they were…she remembered watching him sleep and thinking how angelic he looked…she remembered watching him as he wielded the Tessaiga, the beautiful, deadly power that he'd mastered…

And she remembered the blueness of the skies, the greenness of the trees, the lightness of the unpolluted air, the coldness of the clear rivers. She remembered breathtaking nights beside the fire, gazing up at the vast expanse of the heavens speckled with light…she remembered it all…

Drawing another deep breath and losing herself in the heady scent of sakura on the wind, she delved into her mind, and from somewhere inside her a song emerged and she began to sing quietly to herself. Her old voice creaked a bit at first, but as she continued, it smoothed and the words flowed from her heart and into the night, mixing with the steady sighing and creaking of the night wind in the Great Tree.

_**Fukai fukai mori no oku ni ima mo kitto  
okizari ni shita kokoro kakushite'ru yo  
**(I'm sure that the heart I left behind  
still lies hidden in the heart of the deep, deep forest.)_

_**sagasu hodo no chikara mo naku tsukarehateta  
hitobito wa eien no yami ni kieru**_

_(Exhausted, without the strength to search  
people vanish into the infinite darkness.)_

_  
**chisai mama nara kitto ima demo mieta ka na  
**(If it's so small, I wonder if I can see it even now?)_

_**boku-tachi wa ikiru hodo ni  
nakushite'ku sukoshi zutsu  
itsuwari ya uso wo matoi  
tachisukumu koe mo naku**_

_(As we live on,  
we lose a little bit more.  
Shrouded in falsehoods and lies,  
we stand frozen to the spot, unable to cry out)_

_**aoi aoi sora no iro mo kidzukanai mama  
sugite yuku mainichi ga kawatte yuku  
**(The days pass by and change,  
without us even realizing how blue the sky really is.)_

_**tsukurareta wakugumi wo koe ima wo ikite  
sabitsuita kokoro mata ugokidasu yo  
**(Overcoming that made-up scheme, we live the present,  
and our rusted hearts begin to beat again!)_

_**toki no RIZUMU wo shireba mo ichido toberu darou**  
(If we can find the rhythm of time, we can fly once again)_

_**boku-tachi wa samayoi nagara  
ikite yuku doko made mo  
shinjite'ru hikari motome  
arukidasu kimi to ima**  
(We live our lives  
wandering to the ends of the earth.  
Believing (in you?),  
now I begin my journey with you,  
in search of the light.)_

_**boku-tachi wa ikiru hodo ni  
nakushite'ku sukoshi zutsu  
itsuwari ya uso wo matoi  
tachisukumu koe mo naku  
**(As we live on,  
we lose a little bit more.  
Shrouded in falsehoods and lies,  
we stand frozen to the spot, unable to cry out)_

_**boku-tachi wa samayoi nagara  
ikite yuku doko made mo  
furikaeru  
michi wo tozashi  
aruite'ku eien ni  
**(We live our lives  
wandering to the ends of the earth.  
Closing off  
the way back,  
we walk on for eternity.)_

_  
**tachisukumu koe mo naku  
ikite yuku eien ni**_

_(We live our lives standing frozen to the spot,  
unable to cry out, for eternity...)_

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

As the final strain echoed off into the night wind, the soft creaking of the Great Tree's boughs was the only sound left as the old woman drifted off into her dreams… 

She was there in that old familiar dream…they were all around her, everyone was there, and there before them, there was their enemy, a being out of the darkest terror of the imagination…Naraku…and in his hand, the complete Shikon no Tama. Even as they watched, its shimmering pink surface twinkled and gleamed and then turned an absolute black with Naraku's youki. It was done, corrupted beyond recognition, and as it merged with Naraku's body, he laughed, a frozen, life sucking sound that found her on her knees… InuYasha had caught her before she could faint, but could do no more than set her gently on the ground before he drew the Tessaiga from its sheath with a hiss of energy.

The battle raged almost instantly around her…Sango's Hiraikotsu spun high, striking demons left and right and Miroku did the same with his staff; his Kazanaa was useless with Saimyoushou swarming here and there… Kouga moved with deadly speed tearing the youkai apart left and right, and Sesshomaru and InuYasha delivered blow after blow from their swords, the blue and gold energies mingling and dancing through the swarm of demons, never quite reaching Naraku, who seemed to be changing…

The change was not physical; his physical form remained the same…but something about him became darker… the light shied away from him, unwilling to touch something so tainted, so that it became hard to see him though the darkness that flowed off him in waves. But there was one point of light before him that illuminated his form quite clearly enough. Kikyo stood in the melee, her bow and arrows gone, her hair loosed and flowing; her body glowed with an ethereal light, a light not of this world and even at a distance she could feel the waves of purity radiating from her… She meant to finish it, to purify the jewel, and Naraku with it!

But too, she could see that even such unadulterated purity would be swallowed up by that all consuming maw of darkness…

Something seized inside her… She too, had spiritual power… She held Kikyo's soul within her… There had to be something she could do!

Standing, she ran with miraculous speed through the battle, her heart pounding, her body tingling; her mind had stopped, and she was no longer thinking, but acting on instinct. The demons didn't touch her…her soul was emerging, and any that came near evaporated in a burst of flames.

Tearing through the final wall of youkai, her hands connected with Kikyo's shoulders, and she felt it…she became part of Kikyo's light…she was Kikyo's light, and Kikyo was her light…they were each other, they were whole again.

The light was blinding, and beyond it, Naraku's face showed his confusion and indignant rage as he evaporated, just before Midoriko and the great demon emerged from the pulsing depths of the brightness, twining around each other, then vanishing into nothingness. Somewhere behind her she heard her name being called…

And then it came…that sickening lurch inside her…Before her eyes, Kikyo's form crumbled in her hands, her body incinerated to ash by the burning brightness of their soul… There was no time for this horror to sink in because she was suddenly air born, being tugged backwards… Both Kouga and InuYasha made grabs for her, and Sango and Miroku tried to follow on Kirara's back… Shippo's plaintive cries echoed after her…but there was no stopping it…her body rocketed through the air at impossible speed and suddenly she was plummeting down, down into the suffocating dark depths of the Bone Eaters Well…No! She didn't have any shards! She wouldn't make it back!

The darkness engulfed her, and her heart jumped as she started, but this time, she didn't wake…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Somewhere overhead, she heard the Great Tree sighing in the night breeze…but she did not wake…she remained in the darkness that she'd fallen into… She was only afraid for a moment, and only because she always woke when she dreamed this dream, and only because she resented this darkness…this darkness had stolen her from her friends before she'd had a chance to say good bye… she felt a new tear trace down her cheek…perhaps she had room for that one regret…she dearly would have liked to say goodbye…

"Good bye?" someone asked with flippant innocence, "What for, Kagome?"

She started in the darkness, looking around for the source, but finding nothing.

"Indeed, there's no need for that, Kagome-sama! We're waiting for you…" another chimed in.

"Don't be silly, Kagome-chan, we'd never leave you behind!" a third intoned

"Oi, Kagome, what's keeping you?" demanded a heartbreakingly familiar voice, and suddenly, in the darkness, she saw a flash of red and sliver for an instant, and suddenly, as she followed it, she was under the Goshinboku once more.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

It took her a moment to realize that the door to the well house was open…she'd been watching that speedy red and silver blur as it disappeared into the well house…!

She struggled to her feet and was halfway across the yard when she realized that she'd left her cane behind and was doing just fine without it…turning around, she saw it lying on the ground next to the Great Tree, and outlined against it was the tiny sleeping form of an old woman, her face peaceful, a small smile on her lips and a tear on her cheek…

Something tugged at her mind, nagged her, as though there was something she'd forgotten or something she should be doing…

She frowned in concentration…should she wake the old woman? She was about to turn back, when a thin pink light filtered out of the open well house door, and she heard from somewhere within and irritated voice… "Come on! You've been here long enough taking those tests, its time to be getting back!"

She smiled back at the old woman's still form…she looked peaceful and happy…it would be a shame to wake her now if she was having such a great dream…

Her silky black hair fanned out behind her as she sprinted gracefully towards the well house door. Her body felt so light for some reason, and so did her heart. Inside, the source of light was discovered: the mouth of Bone Eaters Well was glowing dazzlingly from within. Without a moment's hesitation she skipped down the old wooden planks of the stairs, which protested in her wake.

Creeeeeeeeeak….

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Leaping up to sit on the lip, she gazed down into the depths, which were awash in light and what was beyond that made her smile: Wonderful blue skies, ardent green trees, clear, unpolluted air and cold clear rivers, and beyond, the vast expanse of the heavens speckled with light…

She jumped…the light engulfed her and for disorienting moment there was no up or down in the haze of gleaming brightness. And then he stepped in front of her, blocking out the blinding glare, a vision of red and silver, his molten gold eyes sparkling into hers.

"InuYasha! You're here!" she heard herself exclaim, though she couldn't remember why she should be surprised.

He smirked at her endearingly. "Am I not always?" he rejoined, holding out his hand to her.

For a moment, she felt that distant tug at the back of her mind, that nagging feeling that there was something she should be remembering…a vision of a young girl sprang to mind…she was getting married soon, and she'd miss it if she left now…

But as she gazed up into InuYasha's eyes, all doubt fled her and she smiled and took his hand as the light engulfed them both.

* * *

Satsuki yawned again and stretched her hands over her head before beginning her trek up the stairs to the Higurashi Shrine. The morning sun shone brightly overhead, and her thoughts once more drifted to her employer. She hoped the old lady was feeling better…lately, she'd seemed to be sleepier than usual, drifting off at all hours of the day where once she'd been awake and lively, greeting visitors to the shrine and conversing, or at least watching the birds and the clouds. She was worried about her health, but she supposed it was to be expected for a woman of her age to sleep a lot…she was over 100 after all! 

But more than that, she seemed so sad lately…whenever she woke up, her eyes seemed dull and lackluster, as though something was slowly squeezing the joy out of her. Each day she prayed for Higurashi-sama to find happiness again, but each day, it seemed, joy slipped further and further away…

She worried for the little old woman. Higurashi-sama was the closest thing to a hermit Satsuki had ever heard of, never having left her home in years and most people didn't think much of 'crazy old lady Higurashi'…but Satsuki had been looking after her, buying her groceries and helping her around the shrine for years and she had become like another grandmother to her. She hoped that nothing she'd done had caused the old woman distress, but she had a feeling that the sadness in the old woman's heart ran deeper than she knew, and came from somewhere beyond her reckoning…only Higurashi-sama knew, and Satsuki hoped with all her heart that she could find her way around it.

As she made it to the top of the stairs and up the walk, she stopped cold in her tracks and stared in shock at the base of the Great Tree. Higurashi-sama's small form lay propped beside it, unmoving. Dropping her bag, she bolted to her side, knowing what she would find when she got there.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she knelt beside the old woman's body, and she realized she had no idea what to do… She checked for a pulse and unsurprisingly found nothing… she checked for signs of foul play, but found none…it seemed the old lady had simply come to sit under the Great Tree and had drifted off to sleep and never woke up again…

It struck Satsuki at that moment how peaceful she looked, lying there under the Great Tree, a little smile on her wizened face… Under the Great Tree, where things come full circle… Hadn't those been Higurashi-sama's words?

"You found your happiness again," she murmured through her sobs "Under the Goshinboku…"

Still her shoulders shook, and she leaned into the old woman's still form and cried.

Overhead the boughs of the Great Tree sighed in the wind, and a single flower from somewhere in the high branches drifted down and landed in the old lady's lap as the tree swayed in the breeze.

Creeeeeeeeeak…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

* * *

Rumiko leaned back from her sketch pad and rubbed her eyes, then stretched before leaning back over and concentrating with a little snicker. She was really running poor Ranma through the ringer in this one… 

BRRRRRRRING!

The phone buzzed next to her, making her jump from her concentration. She picked it up with a sigh.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Rumi-chan?"

"Satsuki-chan! Are you back from the honeymoon already?"

"Oh, Rumi-chan…we've been back for three days! You need to get out more!"

Rumiko glanced up at the wall calendar and laughed at herself. "So you have! How was it?"

"Oh, it was wonderful! I'll have to give you all the details later. But I was just now calling with an idea for you."

"Is that so? What's on your mind, sister?"

"Well, you know how that lady that I looked after died?"

"Uh huh, I heard, I'm really sorry, Satsuki…"

"Its…Its alright…I miss her, but I know she's in a better place…but you'll never guess…in her will…she left everything she had…to me!"

Rumiko's eyebrows shot up. "Really? So you own the Higurashi Shrine now? Wow!"

"I think she knew how much I love it there…and she didn't have any family…Kappei and I were so worried about where we were going to live…but now we have land and a house! I can't think of anything more wonderful! Oh! Listen to me, I'm rambling again…"

Rumiko smiled. Her sister did have a tendency to ramble, but at least she was able to catch herself in the act.

"Anyway, I was just calling because I was going through some of her things and found some old papers. Sometimes when I would stay for dinner with her, she would tell me the most wonderful stories, fairy tales about how she used to travel through time and have grand adventures with a band of warriors…They were absolutely enthralling…

"Well, as I was going through her things I found these papers, and it looks as though she wrote all of her stories down here. I was thinking, when you get a chance, you might want to read through them and maybe draw some novels for them. I don't think Higurashi-sama would mind, and these tales are too fantastic to not be told!"

"Hmm…well, if you're so adamant, of course I'll take a look! Feel free to drop them by anytime, I'm usually around, ne?" Rumiko laughed. Satsuki laughed on the other end as well.

"Yes, you are! Get some fresh air. Ja ne!"

"Ja!"

Hanging up the phone, Rumiko shrugged and turned back to her work. She'd take a look at the stories. Who was to say? Maybe they'd turn out to be worth the trouble…

Turning her pencil on the pad once more, she continued her sketching…the dulled end squeaked against the slick paper for a moment before Rumiko stuck it in he electric sharpener…

Creeeeeeeeeak…

* * *

FIN

* * *

AN: So…whatcha think? Hope you liked it…if not, I'm not to be blamed, I wrote it at 2:30 AM…if you did…it was all me, I'm brilliant…either way, tell me! Review is the name of the game! Ja ne!  


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